Gazing Into the Sun
by chipshot1234
Summary: With the Soul Society rescue mission successful, Ichigo and Rukia are settling back into the comforts of the Karakura Clinic, their bond strengthening with every moment. All seems to be right in the world. Or is it..? (Rating subject to change)


He wasn't usually the type to stop and smell the flowers, but Ichigo had to appreciate how beautiful the streets of Karakura Town were at night. They were completely deserted — a rarity in the town that seemed to never sleep — and had a thin film of snow covering them. The lamps that ran along the street were dimly lit, casting a romantic glow along the sidewalk, and the flames danced lazily in their casings. He couldn't remember a time quite as peaceful as this.

It had been three months since the successful rescue of Kuchiki Rukia. Though he was now officially the Substitute Shinigami of Karakura Town, Ichigo hadn't had to exercise his position too much since then. There had been few, if any, serious Hollow attacks since Aizen's defection, and those were always swiftly taken care of. If he didn't get to the Hollows first, Chad, Orihime, Ishida, or Rukia did. The lack of activity was equal parts comforting and suspicious; surely there should be more attacks now than ever before, now that Soul Society was officially at war and the Hollows had a leader with a vested interest in destroying Karakura Town. On the other hand, this was the peace that he had fought so hard to achieve, and lack of activity was better than a full-scale attack. He wasn't naive, however. He knew that the threat of Aizen and the arrancars still loomed on the horizon, but for now, it wouldn't stop him from enjoying the fact that his friends were safe and sound and that he was happier than he had ever been in his life.

Especially with what awaited him at home.

He rounded the corner, grinning to himself, before spotting an open thrift store. He wandered in, idly walking through the aisles and browsing the shelves for anything interesting, until he found what he was looking for. He grabbed the Chappy doll and went to the register, spotting a familiar figure nearby.

"Yoruichi-san?"

She turned around curiously. "Kurosaki-kun?" Yoruichi asked, before nodding at him. Then she grinned. There was something unusual about how she smiled. She always had a very playful smile, but this time there was a particularly deviousness to it. He didn't like it. "I'm surprised to find you here! Are you here on your girlfriend's behalf?"

"What?" asked Ichigo, confused. He held up the Chappy doll. "You could say that."

Her smile grew. She looked positively cheshire like now. "I see. And nothing for yourself? You're always so uptight; something from over there-" she gestured toward a shelf in the back. "Might help you."

"I'm fine," he said, eying her cautiously. He looked around. On the walls were an assortment of posters and pictures. On the shelves were various trinkets — headbands, wrist-chains, glasses, mirrors, cups, key-rings, manga, movies, candy, drinks, and clothes of all different sizes. But on the back wall-

"This is an adult shop?!"

She burst into laughter, gripping her knees to steady herself. "You didn't notice?" she asked, doubling over again. Ichigo glared at her.

"No, I didn't notice because I'm not a pervert like you. And this isn't even an adult shop!" He pointed to the other walls. "If this was an adult shop, the entire place would sell adult things! It's all just in the back."

"Some of it is. Most of it is. But they do sell other things," she conceded, now smiling more genuinely at him. "I'm just messing with you. You need to lighten up. I'm just in here for a few things for Urahara. But it's still good to see you."

"How is he?"

"He's been busy," she said, sighing. "He's been in his lab all month. Hasn't had a whole lot of time outside of it, really. He finds the lack of Hollow activity since Aizen's defection suspicious. He's determined to find out why. Surely you've noticed that ever since you kids came back, we haven't heard so much as a peep from Aizen?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Very strange," she continued slowly, more to herself than Ichigo. "It can't be good, whatever it is. I have my ideas, of course, but there's nothing we know for certain. I suppose we'll have to wait until he comes out into the open to act. Well, have fun. Especially tonight," she added, nudging him in the ribs and winking toward the Chappy doll. He blushed, holding the doll to his chest defensively.

He arrived home shortly after, carefully closing the door behind him. Yuzu was passed out on the couch, her arm drooping over the side. No doubt she had stayed up waiting for him. He smiled at her, his chest bursting with affection and warmth towards his little sister.

He made his way up the stairs and entered his room. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. She was fast asleep on his bed, her hair strewn about her face in little wisps. Her arms were wrapped around a pillow and she was lightly nuzzling the top of it, used to a warmer, taller body to snuggle into, and she murmured gently into the pillow as she slept.

He placed the doll next to the pillow and sat next to her, stroking her hair and looking at her with hungry eyes. He could stay there forever, with her, as far as he was concerned. There was no other place he would rather be. It was that moment, when all the fights, the disturbances in his previous life of normalcy and contentment, the long nights where survival was not a guarantee, the death-defying heists that tested his very soul, made it seem worth it. It was all worth it if he could have her. His love for her was like the footsteps in the snow outside, and he would follow her everywhere she went. He looked at her with blazing eyes, his heart swelling with affection.

He bent down to kiss her forehead, his ear right next to the window, when he heard it. "Kurosaki-san."

The sound made him jump. He turned around wildly to see Urahara sitting on his window sill, his arms folded and his head thrown back in laughter. Ichigo leaned against the side of the closet, trying to slow his heart rate down. He had half a mind to push Urahara off the side of the house. Not that it would kill him — mildly injure, perhaps — but maybe it would at least get him to stop using Ichigo's window as his own personal door.

"What are you doing here, Urahara-san?" Ichigo asked, a vein throbbing in his forehead. "And can't you use the door like a normal shinigami?!"

"Relax, Kurosaki-kun. I was just messing with you. But I'm going to need you to come along with me to my shop. There has been an update regarding the situation with Aizen Sosuke."

"An update?" Ichigo asked. His annoyance vanished instantly. He felt like someone had just poured a bucket of ice water on him. An update could only be bad; no news was good news, as far as he was concerned. Suddenly the peace that had seemed such an immutable part of his life for the last few months seemed as fragile and impermanent as ever.

"Yes. Meet me at my shop in 5 minutes." Urahara turned to leave, but paused, looking back at Ichigo regretfully: "And you might want to say goodbye to Rukia too."

With that, he was gone. Ichigo sat stunned. It was possible that Urahara simply wanted to give him information — but why would he have to say goodbye to Rukia? Couldn't he have done that here? Or maybe there was something technical that Ichigo needed to do to help him. But Urahara was a genius. Why would he need Ichigo's help with anything that didn't involve fighting?

That was the answer, he thought. Fighting. And if he had to say goodbye to Rukia, it was probably in another world, far away from the peace and happiness he enjoyed here.

Ichigo stepped onto his bed, preparing to shunpo out the window, before he looked back at Rukia's sleeping form. She snuggled further into the Chappy doll, nuzzling her head where its neck was. Where his neck _should _be. A small smile crept on his face in spite of himself. He sighed, and shunpo'd out into the cold night.

They met a few minutes later.

"Where do you need me to go?" he asked as they climbed down the ladder into the training bunker.

"You'll see," Urahara said mysteriously. "But it's not here. It's a very, very long way from here. And it might be best if you go alone."

Ichigo's stomach turned over again. That didn't sound like good news. Wherever he was going, it was a place far away from the peace and happiness he enjoyed in Karakura Town. But he would do it, because that was expected of him. Anything to keep his friends safe. Anything to keep the town safe.

Anything to keep her safe.

Urahara jumped down onto the ground nimbly, wiping dust off the bottom of his kimono. Ichigo followed suit. They walked toward the small, makeshift lab upon which a large map was spread out. Urahara sat on the chair and rolled next to the map. He beckoned Ichigo to come closer.

"Karakura Town has enjoyed an unprecedented amount of peace since Aizen defected," he explained. "I've found this to be very suspicious. Why hasn't he acted yet? Why hasn't he sent his arrancars to test the waters here? It's gone past the point of simply building up his army. He has that. He simply hasn't used it. What's the point of having an army you refuse to use? Why? Surely you've noticed," he pressed on, looking up at Ichigo. "That there have been almost no Hollow attacks since you arrived with Rukia-chan almost three months ago."

Ichigo gazed at the map. There were red pinpoints all around America and a few in Europe, but none elsewhere, including Japan. They seemed stuck in random patterns, but upon closer inspection he noticed they had dates written on them: the ones in Europe had 11/7/13 - 21/7/13 written on them.

"Yes," Ichigo said, looking back at Urahara. "I have noticed that. Not that I'm complaining."

"As you shouldn't. But it turns out that he _has _been busy, just not in Karakura Town," Urahara said quietly. He pointed to the map. "These are locations where his reiatsu last appeared. I have been tracking him for the last few months and couldn't find a pattern to his appearances. He would show up weekly, almost always on Sundays. He was usually alone, although here-" he pointed to a dot in Pennsylvania. "Here-" he pointed to a dot in Scotland. "And here-" he pointed to a dot in New York. "He was accompanied by a few members of the Espada."

"Okay," Ichigo said slowly. He looked at Urahara uncertainly. The map made no sense, as far as he was concerned. He trusted Urahara's analysis, but the results made little sense. What was Aizen doing in America and Europe? Was he building up his army, far away from the prying eyes of Soul Society? Was he hiding out there, biding his time for another attack on Soul Society? What did he have out there that Soul Society didn't know about? And why only Sundays? "What is he doing there, then?" he asked.

"I don't know," said Urahara, sighing. "It doesn't appear that he's killing anyone, though. If he was killing people or creating arrancar, it would have shown up as an area of increased reiatsu. But he hasn't done that. The reiatsu levels, minus the ones where he was accompanied by Espada, show that he goes alone and kills no one. But there is a pattern. According to my theory, he will appear in America sometime tomorrow. Kurosaki-san," continued Urahara, now looking directly at Ichigo. His eyes seemed to bore directly into Ichigo's soul. "I need you to go to America and stop whatever it is he's doing. We can't know what he's doing over there with certainty, but it's bound to not be good. I need you to report back to me as soon as possible. Apprehend him if you can. We need to know what he's doing over there."

Ichigo nodded in understanding. He turned to leave, the resolve to protect his friends blazing throughout him, but froze. He turned around and glanced at Urahara. "But America is a big place, Urahara-san. Where in America should I go?"

"If my prediction is correct, he will appear in a little town called Augusta, in Georgia."

Ichigo nodded and turned to leave again, but the thought of Rukia flashed through his mind, giving him pause. What he would do to wish that this hadn't been thrust upon him, that he could go back to halcyon days he enjoyed with his friends and family. But as long as the traitor Aizen Sosuke was alive, they were all in danger, and the peace they had known would not be true peace until the threat was eliminated. He had to go. He had to protect his friends. To protect her. He must protect her. He disappeared in a shunpo step, the wind rushing through his face and hair as he went, his resolve to protect ignited in him.


End file.
